More than a place of learning: school as a hybrid system

More than learning and teaching: The school as a hybrid system offers space for different user groups. (Photo: Mandana Sedighi, KIT)

Demographic change, increasing migration, disruptive technologies, and innovative teaching and learning formats require school spaces that meet current social developments. The interdisciplinary research project "School as a Hybrid System" at the Institute of Design and Building Technology of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is developing a holistic concept for school buildings that combine multiple functions. The project is funded by the Zukunft Bau research initiative of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development.

"The pandemic has brought home very clearly the social importance of schools," says Dr. Mandana Sedighi from the Department of Load-bearing Structures at KIT's Institute of Design and Building Technology. "Once apart from the currently necessary introduction of digital learning platforms, many schools are reaching their limits in terms of the space they offer, their spatial structure and design," says the head of the project "School as a Hybrid System - Systematic Investigation for the Development of an Architectural-Pedagogical Concept for Schools as a Hybrid System", whose investigation opens up new perspectives for new school buildings and renovations. A large proportion of school buildings in Germany date from the 20th century, and some still date from the 19th century. "Architecturally, they reflect the social ideas of education of their time. They often do not meet today's requirements," says Sedighi. The research project takes a look at the different architecture of schools and different pedagogical approaches and investigates the extent to which hybrid architectural-pedagogical concepts can create free space for new educational experiences and promote social participation through integration and inclusion.

School for different user groups
"School as a hybrid system, in which different functions combine, can - beyond the student and teacher body - involve different actors and create new educational networks and experiences. Hybrid school is a contribution to actively shaping a sustainable future," says the project's initiator. For example, coworking spaces could be set up in the school building as workspaces for start-ups. "In the course of such cooperation, children could experience first-hand how to deal with digital media or programming languages in a professional environment," she says. Opening the school canteen to start-up employees and parents, rooms for exhibitions, for leisure and health activities and further training in the sense of lifelong learning, as well as cooperation with companies and service providers in the neighbourhood, are all conceivable, she adds. "In this way, school would expand its educational mission," she said. In cities with a shortage of living space, it would also be possible to increase living capacity by adding more storeys to school buildings as part of urban development redensification.

Making existing schools fit for the future
Schools need flexible, variable-use spaces for changing teaching methods and learning formats that are suitable for inclusion and all-day schooling, offer space for team and individual work, as well as digital learning spaces, exercise zones, rest areas and canteens. One aim of the research project is therefore to develop architectural modules that can be transferred to different refurbishment projects, following the model of a modular system, and that can be used according to local conditions and requirements. In the refurbishment and hybridisation process of school buildings, Sedighi advises a creative approach to the existing spatial elements. Classrooms in old buildings, he says, are usually small and designed for frontal instruction, while hallways are long and narrow. To make such a school building sustainable, walls without a load-bearing function could be removed to create larger, variable spaces. Partitions between classrooms and hallways could be replaced with glass elements to bring in daylight, or niches could be added to create individual study nooks. "A hallway can become a learning street, and a library can be integrated into the school's open entrance area, along with mobile workstations for parents," she said.

The project "School as a hybrid system - Systematic investigation for the development of an architectural-pedagogical concept for schools as a hybrid system", which started in mid-2019 and will run for 18 months until May 2021, has a project volume of around 100,000 euros and is funded by the Zukunft Bau research initiative of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development. KIT's research partner is the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Cologne.

afr, 18.02.2021